pick

Sometimes I think we need to pick one or the other.

American Theology is such a collection of messy ideas.  Chocolate and peanut butter go together great in a Reece's but there are some ideas about faith that seem to me to be mutually exclusive.

I think we have to decide.  I think we need to pick.

Option 1.  God is mad.  God wants to punish you.  You better be good.  Be afraid.  Live in fear.  You might go to hell.  God is out to get you.  He wants to catch you on a technicality.  It doesn't matter how good you were yesterday, if you mess up today you are in danger of hell.

Option 2.  God loves you.  God made a wonderful world for us to live in.  God has given us the gifts of love and joy and forgiveness.  In this life we should see his grace, accept it and life with hearts that are full!

Many of us were raised on option one.  Move to option 2 as soon as you can.  We were not created to live lives of fear.  We were made to live lives of joy.  Either God is not loving or he is.  You pick.  I believe that God is good and that he loves us very much.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

why we believe, why we follow

So I am back on the new movie about Rob Bell. Someone commented, "[Rob Bell is a] Terrible teacher that denies Hell... so there is no reason to follow God because you won’t get punished."

My response to that comment is this......
Since when do we follow God to avoid punishment? What a terrible reason to be a Christian. If God gave us the punishment that we deserve, we would all be consumed. 

 We don't follow to avoid punishment. We believe and we follow because of his amazing love, grace and forgiveness. That is why they call it Good News.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

questions

So Rob Bell has come out with a new movie called "The Heretic."  My friend Brian Swanson tagged me on the facebook post because I like Rob.  I don't agree with everything Rob says or thinks but I love it that he is bold enough to ask questions of our faith. 

Jesus would welcome questions.  Jesus questioned the pharisees.  Jesus challenged the scriptures of his day, "you have heard it said, but I say to you...."  There is nothing wrong with asking questions or challenging the status quo.

Those who do not allow questions are to be feared.

If we were honest  with ourselves we would admit that we have more questions than answers.  My world is filled with questions.  Yours are always welcome here.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

God's world

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

God's world.  God's world.
Not mine.  Definitely not the devil's. 
This is my Father's world.  God's world. 
Maybe we shouldn't make so many rules about his world. 
Maybe we shouldn't exclude people. 
Maybe in God's world, his principles should reign. 
Loving thoughts are not just for Sunday morning.
Let's give them to the rest of the world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Sermon audio from Sunday 2-4-18

I did not preach on Jan 28th.  This audio is from 2-4-18

click here to listen

boundaries

Once there was a farmer in Finland. When they were drawing up the Russian-Finnish border, the farmer had to decide whether he wanted to be in Russia or Finland. After a long time he said he wanted to be in Finland, but he didn't want to offend the Russian officials. They came to him and wanted to know why he wanted to be in Finland. The farmer replied, "It has always been my desire to live in Mother Russia, but at my age I wouldn't be able to survive another Russian winter."

    Anthony DeMello in his book Awareness

When you cross over the border from Kansas to Missouri can you tell?  If you are walking in the wilderness of North Dakota and cross over into Canada, how would you know?  If Jesus straddled our human border between Israel and Jordan would he know it?  Would he care?  We humans draw lots of lines.... Jesus erases them and takes people in.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

fear and worry

Last year a friend invited me to go kayaking on the inter-coastal.  The inter-coastal is fed both by the Sebastian river and the ocean.  So any and every kind of creature could be, no... is in that water.  There have been shark attacks and crocodile attacks in the inter-coastal.  Rare, yes, but I was worried of course that I might be the exception.  The entire time that I was out on the kayak I was looking around, keeping my eyes peeled.  I vowed to never do it again.

Fast forward.  I am working for someone who lives on the inter-coastal.  I am removing some old fence posts that are in about one foot of water at low tide.  I am using a ratchet to remove bolts and using a saw to cut off the posts.  I am squatting down, so every time the waves come in, I must lift my derriere to keep it from getting wet.  Worse yet, I am thinking about the kayaking experience.  I am realizing that lurking just a few feet away from me may be a gator just waiting for the right moment to pounce.  I am after all wading in their home territory.  I don't know how long it took to remove those posts but it seemed like an eternity.

Newsflash- local man taken by gator while working to remove fence.

about to be lunch for a croc

The next time I was there working, I saw some guys fishing.  I thought, oh boy are they brave.  Then I thought, well, maybe I was worried about nothing.  I don't have to out swim the gator, just one of the fishermen.

Most of what we worry about is nothing to worry about.  Just wade in, do what you need to do, and get on with the rest of your day.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

misleading

So I have seen these trash cans, oh, I mean recycle cans in the airport for years.  My assumption has been that you put the cans and bottles in the round holes and the newspapers in the slot shaped like a newspaper.  My brain thought how nice it was that we were recycling and helping the separation process from the get go.  My brain also thought, don't put any other kind of paper in there, just newspaper.

The cans are a bit misleading.  If you look closely, there is no divider inside the can.  If you put a newspaper in the round hole, it ends up in the same place as if you put it in the slot.  If you could crush a can and put it in the slot, well no harm is done.  There is no separation.... it all goes to the same bag.  How disappointing!

There should be just one hole in the middle that says "recycle here."

In what ways do advertisers mislead us?  In what ways do churches mislead us?  Do we ever intentionally mislead others?  What degree of us being misled is our own fault?  In this case, my brain did something with the trash can that the designers may not even have intended.  Our expectations about how a thing out to be can be pretty misleading sometimes.

The moral of this trashy story... Just because I think it is this way, doesn't mean that it is this way.  Just because I am disappointed because someone or something did not meet my expectations does not mean that I have any right to be disappointed.   Sometimes we just don't see things as they really are.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

get ahold of yourself

Grasp ahold of yourself.

I have spoken and written many times about acting and reacting. On the stage of life, are we reacting to the things that happen to us? Or do we stop, take a step back, take a deep breath and act out of the best of who we are.

From time to time we may find ourselves in a place that we do not like. Maybe I am, maybe we are too angry, too lazy, too worried, or too nervous about anything and everything.

If you are feeling this way, it may be a good time to go find some solitude. Go sit in a park. Go sit on your porch. Turn off the TV, tune out the noise of life. Grasp ahold of yourself, Return to who you wish to be. It can be done. As sure as we allowed the cares of this life to rush in, we can also find the quiet and the presence of God to calm things down again.

And once I find the calm, I am ready to re-engage life. Instead of life beating me down, I am ready to take it on and pour myself into the humans that God has given me in this life.

Thirty minutes of quiet alone time may just change your world today.  

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

saving face

I am reading a book called The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel. It is the true story of Museum curators who were put in service during WW2 to help identify and recover the art, sculptures and cultural items that had been stolen by the Nazis.

There is always plunder in war, but Hitler and the Nazis made a machine out of stealing the great works of art.

I learned a lot from this book about art. But I also learned some other interesting historical facts. In the last month of his life, with the war being lost, Hitler ordered the complete destruction of his own country. All bridges, canals, railroads and infrastructure were to be completely destroyed so to delay the advance of the Allied forces.

Destroy your own country? Why? It seems that he had some misguided sense of saving face or military defiance. It is the ultimate exercise in “I am not going to say I’m sorry.” Some people, even in the face of their own foolishness, can not admit that they were wrong.  Some are willing to destroy their own countries, their own families, their own lives rather than say "I'm sorry."

Fact is, we are wrong, we humans, more often than one might think. The path to a healthy life is not insisting that I am always right, but by making my way carefully, kindly and humbly along the daily journey, doing the best that I can and making course corrections along the way. What course corrections lie in wait for me today? Will I see them? Will I recognize them for what they are? Will I take them? I hope so. Will you?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com








I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan
March 5-14 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

yesterday is gone, let it go

My friend Sharon shared this quote...

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
      Ralph Waldo Emerson

May we all release ourselves from the foolishness of yesterday and the ongoing mistakes of today.  May we continually strive to love and to be made perfect in love in this life.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

project

Someone told me recently that a particular person was their "project."  What they were referring to was the idea that they had decided that it was their job to convert that person.  Lots of Christians think like this.... it is my job to convert so and so.  That person is my "evangelism project."

Here is the problem with that kind of thinking.... It is not my job or your job to convert people.  That is God's job.  It is our job to love them. 

I have come to believe that in this life we must earn the right to speak into someone's spiritual life.  We must be invited in by them.  Then, carefully we might be able to reach them.  But if you are not invited in, if you force your way in, all they will do is resist.

1 Peter 3 reminds us to be ready to give answer of the hope that lies within us.  By loving people, we open the door to a talk about our hope.  By pushing people around we close the door.  Well meaning Christians drive away the very people that they are trying to win.  Don't be one of those.

I had a dream many years ago in which my mother appeared to me from beyond the grave.... She said to me, "Love them Jeff, just love them, that is all that matters."  I would add this, that really, that is all that we can do, all that we are supposed to do.  We love them, God reaches them.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

healthy principles

I was in a meeting the other day and one of the folks articulated some of my favorite thoughts about leadership choices and our behavior.  They said that we should make things simple and clear.

WOW.  And it ought to be pretty easy to make things simple and clear.  But, churches and other organizations have made things difficult and obscure over the years.  Churches use language that other humans do not understand.  We dress things up with robes and odd decorations.  Some Christians put on an air of superiority.  It is no wonder that the person on the street, the very people that we say we are trying to win, does not get who we are and what we are trying to do.

The outcome of long, confusing, obscure, and complicated things is predictable.

Consider what you write.  Consider what you say.  Consider your programs and ideas.  Consider your goals  Consider your mission statement.

Is it simple, as simple as possible?  Is it clear?  Is it relevant?  Is it normal?  Will the average person on the street see what we are talking about and understand it?   Will they find it helpful?  Meaningful?

If they do not, then we may sound religious, but we will not be winning anyone.  

People like things that make sense to them.  It is simple.  Is it clear.  Is it normal?  Is it relevant.
Jesus was, and that is why people flocked to him.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

busted

Our house has 2 1/2 bathrooms.  Knowing that, I have nothing to complain about.  Ever.  Life is good.

I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in two of them so I can brush my teeth whenever, wherever.

So I walked into bathroom #2 the other day and saw this sitting on the counter.  It is my tube of toothpaste.  Looks like someone squeezed it in the middle.  Hmmm.  Who would have done that???

When I was younger there was a discussion about if you should squeeze from the bottom or from the middle.  I was always insistent that you should only squeeze from the bottom.  It makes no sense to squeeze from the middle of the tube.  If we want to get it all out, you must, one must squeeze from the bottom.  It was the only sensible option.  Who would squeeze from the middle of the tube?

Now it has been years since the arguments over which way toilet paper should roll or how to get toothpaste out of the tube.  Honestly I had forgotten the arguments.  But oh boy, was I right about the correct and only way to do it at the time.

Squeeze from the bottom only!

Now I found myself staring at a tube which had been squeezed from the middle, and I had done it.  Oh my.  What has become of order, knowledge and doing the right thing?

Maybe our insistence that this is the only way to do a thing, is misguided.  Maybe we have no right to demand that everyone live life the way that we do.  Maybe the tube will end up empty regardless of the method.  Maybe that person's life will be a joyful and good thing whether they do it in the manner that I think that they should or not.

Let's get off the backs of those who are bottom squeezers.  It's all going to come out in the end.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

an open apology to my children

So I have been thinking about writing an open letter to my children, apologizing for what I perceive as my shortcomings as a parent.

Here are some of the ways in which I feel like I have let them down....

I was too hard on my oldest child.  She was the first and we did not know much about parenting.  The end result was we were much more strict with her.  Not good.

I was gone too much when they were young.  What was good for the church I was serving was usually not good for my children.  I never coached them in soccer, baseball or football.  There were way too many night meetings.

I didn't, we didn't stick to our guns.  There were times when we made a decision about what was required of them, but later caved.  I'm not sure that was good.

There were a few times that I gave them ultimatums.  Looking back I would like to have a few of those moments back.

I apologize for every time I spanked you guys.  Not very many for sure, but I wish I could take every one of them back.

Although my kids grew up in the same town, the same schools and the same church, being a pastor's kid is not easy.  As much as I love and loved the church, growing up under the shadow of the steeple leaves it's mark on a young person.  You spend the rest of your life trying to figure out who I am, away from the church.

Dad is a pastor.  Pastors are supposed to have it all together.  My kids know more than anyone that this dad, this pastor did not.

I am not sure why, but lately I have been thinking about all of the ways that I let them down.  I pray that they forgive me, and that they find their way in life in spite of my shortcomings.

And so, life is good.  With all of the issues in our home, they were raised far better than I was.  I know that my Dad would be proud.  He would say, "son, you did it, you did better for them than we did for you." and that is true for sure.

I feel it is better to air these things out and say I'm sorry than to act like I was a perfect Father, which I was not.

And in spite of our brokenness, it is still a beautiful day in God's world.

A visitor

I am a garage person. That is where my tools are, that is where my music is, I hang out in the garage a bunch. I probably spend more time in the garage piddling than in all of the other rooms of the house combined. [not counting sleeping time that is.]

So a few weeks ago I went out into the garage and this little dove walked right in. I started talking to him. How odd and how unsafe for this little dove to just wander in. He acted like he knew me. Like we were old friends. He walked right up to me. I stepped back, he hopped forward. I felt uncomfortable and a bit fearful for him. This sort of behavior in the wrong garage could be very dangerous.

I went out into the driveway. He popped up on top of the truck. After a while he departed. It was almost like a friend was visiting me from beyond. My father? My mother? Who knows. But it was pretty cool.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

Dirty jobs

There are many dirty little jobs in life that we would all love to forget.

The Fram oil filter man used to say, “pay me now or pay me later.” It might cost a little more, but it is better, was their message. I changed out our furnace filters last week. I do it every month. Look how dirty!!! Imagine what they are like when we forget about them for months.

I once moved into a home where one filter was missing and the other two had not been changed in who knows how long. Eventually such behavior will ruin your air conditioner.

Filters serve a purpose and they need to be changed.

Many things in life are like this.  Filters, cat boxes, broken relationships, on and on we go with difficult things. They come at an inopportune time. They are an annoyance. We have to get out the ladder. We get a little dirty in the process. But such things in life need to be done. If you are facing a project that needs to be done, whether it is about people or the air conditioner, get after it and get it over with or find someone to help you with it.

Leaving such things undone is never good in the long haul. Step out of your comfort zone. Do what needs to be done. Exert the effort now, you will be happy that you did.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

in-between

Have you made a recent life change? In the past few years I have made a bunch. Sometimes I feel like I am in-between. In between what was, and what shall be.

It is an interesting feeling. It is an uncomfortable feeling. In some ways it is terrifying and in some ways it is a great adventure. Well thinking of great adventures, life itself, is a great adventure!

Maybe you are in between jobs. We are all in between birth and death. We are in between this time of comfort and the next - if there is a next. Maybe the greatest times of comfort are in my past. Maybe I will have to work really hard to be comfortable in the life that lies ahead. Maybe I will feel disheveled the rest of my life, and if so, that is ok too.

Sometimes we have to get used to a new normal.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com






I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan
March 5-14 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

chaos and order

Margaret Wheatly writes about chaos and order.  As our society, our
daily lives and our practices fall into chaotic behavior, leaders must find a way to restore order.  By that I do not mean totalitarian practice as much as simply leading in a way that we are solving problems instead of creating them.

We must ask ourselves about the outcome of our choices.  Much behavior is predictable.  Run the present course of action out to it's logical conclusion.  Are we creating challenges or resolving them?  Are we making things more complicated or simplifying them?  What will happen if we stay on the same course?  What are the consequence of a course change?

Someone once said that "Insanity is doing the same things over and over but expecting the same results."  Let us never be afraid to make a change if a indeed a change is needed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan

March 5-14 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl18-brinkman-030518j-17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland

October 8-17, 2018

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#eotours

sermon audio

for who so ever might be interested

this is the link to sundays sermon audio

click here to listen